268793 A cumulative impact screening method for assessing environmental justice

Tuesday, October 30, 2012 : 11:30 AM - 11:50 AM

Laura August, MPH , Cal/EPA - Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Oakland, CA
Lara Cushing, MA, MPH , Energy & Resources Group, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
John Faust, PhD , Cal/EPA - Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Oakland
George Alexeeff, PhD , Cal/EPA - Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Oakland
Lauren Zeise, PhD , Tbd, Cal/EPA - Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Tbd, CA
Walker Wieland , Cal/EPA - Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Sacramento, CA
Rose Cendak, MS , Cal/EPA - Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Oakland, CA
Tamara Kadir, MS , Cal/EPA - Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Sacramento, CA
Carmen Milanes, MPH , Cal/EPA - Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Sacramento, CA
Karen Randles, MPH , Cal/EPA - Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Sacramento, CA
     
Too often, polluting facilities and hazardous sites are concentrated in low-income communities of color already facing additional stressors to their health. This pattern of “double jeopardy” - the combination and potential interaction of socioeconomic stressors and elevated exposure to environmental hazards – is not currently addressed with traditional risk assessment methods. We describe a screening method designed to assess the potential for cumulative impacts that combines indicators of pollution burden and population characteristics. We present results from its application to the state of California. This method has been developed by the Office of Environmental Health and Hazard Assessment pursuant to the California Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Justice Plan. It is designed to provide information on environmental justice so that decision-makers can act to redress inequities. We discuss the criteria for the selection of appropriate indicators, considerations regarding the geographic unit of analysis, and challenges associated with combining disparate data sources. Correlations between indicators, the potential for “double counting”, and the robustness of the results to changes in the structure of the model are evaluated. Issues of stakeholder involvement, transparency, and potential applications of this screening method are also discussed.

Learning Areas:
Environmental health sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe a screening method designed to provide information to decision-makers about environmental justice. Identify challenges in combining metrics derived from disparate data sources in a cumulative impacts framework.

Keywords: Environmental Justice, Risk Mapping

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a research scientist at the Office of Environmental Hazard Assessment focusing on cumulative impact assessment methods for environmental justice, and have been working on the project described in this abstract since September 2009.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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